Jobs for the Girls

Our resident wine expert asks some fearless females for their take on life in the industry

- Sarah Heller MW

As the world gradually wakes up to the workplace challenges experienced by women in many industries, a recurring theme is a lack of female role models and mentors. The wine and spirits industries are still assumed to be largely male-dominated, but the reality—especially in Asia—is not so straightforward.

My own story is an example of what can happen when powerful women support newbies. Over a decade ago I landed a dream first job as executive director of Meiburg Wine Media, founded by Debra Meiburg, one of Asia’s first Masters of Wine. While we worked together, Debra was named Entrepreneur of the Year by the South China Morning Post newspaper and ranked seventh most powerful woman in the global wine industry by The Drinks Business magazine. Through it all, she never failed to publicly acknowledge my contributions to the business, helping me build industry credibility, nor to gently correct anyone who referred to me as her personal assistant, which—given my tender age—happened frequently.

Since then, I’ve had the privilege of working with and befriending so many inspiring, supportive women in the industry globally, and especially in the region, that when I get asked the inevitable question about being a woman in a male-dominant industry, my first instinct is to shrug it off. However, given the disparities that remain, to say nothing of the appalling predatory behavior some women have been subjected to, it would feel like a dereliction of duty. While the wine scene in Asia is blessed with countless successful women—winery owners and winemakers, business owners and executives, educators, journalists, and Masters of Wine—some areas of the industry are less diverse. In Hong Kong, it is still fairly unusual to see a female sommelier, and wine collector circles still skew male—though the balance is slowly shifting.